Maurices BBQ, Rock Hill SC

wnkt · Posted: Jun 04 2008 Post subject: Maurices BBQ, Rock Hill SC

Maurice's BBQ from Columbia SC is now in Rock Hill....up near the NC state line. I have never eaten in the Columbia place but have always wanted to go there. The have a interesting mustard based sauce....come to think of it, its all I saw at the restaurant in Rock Hill today.
I had a meat and 3 sides plate which was Chopped pork that had the mustard sauce on it already, Carolina hash and rice, baked beans and mac and cheese. It was all pretty good I thought. My first taste of BBQ really was when I went to a tech college after high school in Orangeburg SC, about 30 miles south or Columbia. There were several small Q places that were all you can eat buffet types for lunch and only Thurs-Fri-Sat. They all had chopped pork, hash and rice, pork rinds, pickles and thats it....sweet tea in jugs on the table and a bag of sliced white bread on each table as well. I guess you could say I was weaned on this type of Q.....so today was a blast from the past.
The pork ACTUALLY had smoke flavor Shocked

....after you can only get Sonnys around here it was GREAT!.....the beans were pretty good compared to some places that just open a can and heat em up.....the Mac and cheese was oven baked and was pretty good too..

They actually have brisket here along with the regular pork, ribs and chicken

here is their website http://www.mauricesbbq.com/ ...they dont have the Rock Hill location on their map yet.
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Electricity can be dangerous. My nephew tried to stick a penny into a plug. Whoever said a penny doesn't go far didn't see him shoot across that floor. I told him he was grounded. - Tim Allen

mhoodnc · BBQ Fan Joined: 23 Aug 2007 Posts: 344 Location: Charlotte

EEK they're spreading. They will never cross into NC w/yellow sauce. Saw something recently about a punishment of pooping yellow sauce, in cole slaw thread.

wnkt · Posted: Jun 06 2008 Post subject:

Update....I had their brisket today.....
Tasted pretty good, there was some smoke flavor, just not as tender as I like it. It was moist....not much of a smoke ring...but there was a faint red coloration.
It had their mustard sauce on it although its not over powering....not much bark.....they hand sliced it after I ordered it...the girl sliced it THICK too. one slice had to be almost a half inch Shocked

pics to come as soon as I get them off my cell phone Smile

_________________
Electricity can be dangerous. My nephew tried to stick a penny into a plug. Whoever said a penny doesn't go far didn't see him shoot across that floor. I told him he was grounded. - Tim Allen

BBQMAN · Posted: Jun 06 2008 Post subject:

I ate at one of the Colombia locations a few years ago on the recommendation of a friend.

The pulled pork sammie was actually pretty good, and I like the mustard base sauce.

Unfortunately, his views on the "Old South" don't set well with everyones pallet's.

Does he have all of his usual rants and adornments at the new location?

Interesting side note: Maurice could have gone big time in local grocery store chains with his sauces. They were pulled due to his political views that he openly shares in public.

What an idiot.............................
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BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
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wnkt · Posted: Jun 07 2008 Post subject:

Yeah he has a big rebel flag on the wall right along side the State flag and the American flag on the other side of the state flag..
And a table that has his and several other books on sale near the order counter....he certainly isnt a shrinking violet when it comes to his beliefs. I respect that...if not all his views.

Here are the pics of the food I had:
here is the pork plate...it said it was chopped but it looked more like it was pulled to me then the longer pieces were chopped. Actually you cant see the pork too well in this pic, I was kinda focusing on the hash and rice.

Heres the sliced brisket plate:
All in all its a better plate of food than Sonny's.....but I still like Sonny's garlic bread, specially when its hot.

A slightly closer view of the brisket slice:

_________________
Electricity can be dangerous. My nephew tried to stick a penny into a plug. Whoever said a penny doesn't go far didn't see him shoot across that floor. I told him he was grounded. - Tim Allen

SCRich · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 9

I too actually wanted to go by that place this past week but did not have a chance to get by there.

I have ate at their Columbia location and it was OK but I wanted to give them a second chance. OK by me is not good enough since there are many VERY good BBQ places out there to waste my time on OK.

Up to 8 months ago I lived just a couple of miles away from their new location, I think they made a VERY poor choice of site selection, maybe they got some free rent. The new building has only had one storefront in the past 2 years I believe, got to be a reason but I myself did not notice the place till' someone mentioned it to me.

New to the forum but a BBQ addict. I'll be posting next my choices in the York County area. I'd love to hear from anyone else as long as they don't think Sonny's is a BBQ joint! That's like saying Taco Smell is a Mexican Restaurant.

TryingOurBest · Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 3

A big "thank you" to all that come to visit us in the Rock Hill store. This store is a new setup from our typical restaurant. We have a lot of new people and new sets of problems to overcome. That is why we always appreciate people's understanding to wait a little longer during lunch or dinner rush. If anyone has suggestions please let us know.

PS - Feel free to thank the staff for their hard work behind such a tiny counter...and yes it is very hot back there!

Poppa's PTL Club · Posted: Jun 17 2008 Post subject:

I appreciate you guys taking on the challenge, but Maurice appears to be such a jerk about the "Old South" thing to me that I can't support his business. I am a multiple generation Southerner (my great-great grandfather was shot at Gettysburg), but he's the kind of guy that makes us all look like a bunch of ignorant, hateful a-holes.

I hate to make it that simple, but he's the one who threw down the gauntlet, not me.
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SCRich · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 9

Everyone has their political views and I respect that, personally I will never give State Farm Insurance ANY business since they do not support gun owners, support gun control, and have black listed and removed policies from under their feet due to their sport/hobby. Everyone has their cause.

As far as the Rock Hill location I belive that beyond politics that the location is going to be very difficult to overcome, if you get that licked THEN you can worry about politics but right now that is the least of your worries. Yes it is on a major street but it's a section of major street that people bypass by 1 traffic light. Everyone turns at the ligt to go to Wallmart or Lowes and comes about 300 yards short of seeing your place. Also that building has been there for several years with NOTHING other than a check cashing store and with no direct access I belive from Dave Lyle, it's about as memorable of a location as the back of your own head! You know hair is there but can't for the life of you remember what it looks like. Make the sign visible from the Dollar Store, Staples, or Lowes/TSC and you MAY have some luck but it's a long way to be looking from over there.

Good Luck!

pyper · BBQ Fan Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 164 Location: S.C.

wnkt · Posted: Jun 17 2008 Post subject:

I'd have to agree on the difficulty in getting there. If I wasnt actually LOOKING for the place I probably wouldnt have found it, and since no one goes much farther than the entrance to the mall not many people will know its there.
_________________
Electricity can be dangerous. My nephew tried to stick a penny into a plug. Whoever said a penny doesn't go far didn't see him shoot across that floor. I told him he was grounded. - Tim Allen

TryingOurBest · Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 3

I hear the location issue from most people coming in. But in all honesty, isn't easier to drive there then heading down south to the nearest location? We are actually eating a nasty gas cost bringing the fresh food up every day. As for the "pride" thing, more than anything we have people come in and criticize us for the lack of flags flying and showing more support for the south. True we have the normal books on the table and one flag on the wall, but most people who have came in look at them as a novelty item and nothing more.

PS - The fryer we have is tiny and to be honest we aren't sure if we will have it after our next fire inspection. So no fries or skins in Rock Hill, but the hushpuppies will have to do for now (even though, those aren't up to par sometimes).

lantern · Posted: Jun 17 2008 Post subject:

Why are you bringing food from the other location?

Isn't that treating the new store like a BBQ kiosk found in the mall? Is it due to lack of confidence in how the new place will go in the long run? Or is there a lack of space and equipment there?

TryingOurBest · Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 3

All of our meats, mixes, hash, and sauces come from the factory in Columbia. Most of the products are literally cooked in the pits and put on the truck which gets there at about 10 AM. The pork is left whole and chopped at the store, but because we have little room for a full service kitchen it�s hard to have any sort of cooking going on. From what I have heard, is that this store will give us an idea of how much of a market there is this far from Columbia area. By no means is anything here under par from the standards held by the other locations. We have to pull double duty to make sure everything is kept up and is fresh so we don't end up being a simple mall type store.

PS - So far business has been amazing! We actually sold out of most items on Father's Day at around 6 PM! (That was over 75 lbs of ham and god knows how much hash)

mhoodnc · BBQ Fan Joined: 23 Aug 2007 Posts: 344 Location: Charlotte

I can't believe you make stuff at a factory and have it shipped in. Might as well open up a can of Smithfield bbq and serve with that factory sauce. Throw frozen fries in an oven to bake, buy cole slaw at Food Lion to serve. I'm sure it's edible, but do we not strive for bbq artists when we visit restaurants, do we want food freshly prepared or microwaved. I guess if your in it for money only, that will work for some. See McDonald's, at least they cook on site. I really love the folks that do it over wood, with their own sauce and made on premises sides. I will search you out on my many travels and pig out on your superior product. I was considering trying the Rock Hill Maurice's for kicks, but might as well go to subway.

Hat's off to the folks who do it the way it supposed to be done!!!!